ENGLAND star Andrew Flintoff has admitted it can be difficult working with India captain Sourav Ganguly.

Ganguly has been at the centre of a row with coach Greg Chappell over his position after the Australian told the Indian cricket board his thoughts on the player’s shortcomings.

The board have told the pair to settle their differences but Ashes hero Flintoff concedes Ganguly, who has captained India in 49 Tests, can be an awkward character.Flintoff played alongside Ganguly when the Indian skipper spent a season as Lancashire’s overseas player in 2000.

Flintoff wrote in his forthcoming autobiography, Being Freddie: “Ganguly just didn’t work out at all. You can accept a player not playing well, because we all have our ups and downs in our career, but he just didn’t want to get involved.

“He wasn’t interested in the other players and it became a situation where it was 10 players and Ganguly in the team. He turned up as if he was royalty - it was like having Prince Charles on your side.

“There were rumours he was asking people to carry his coffin for him, although he never asked me.

“He turned up for his first net session with Lancashire, when you would have thought he would have wanted to make a good impression, and got hit on the back of the knee by Mike Smethurst.

“Those sort of blows do hurt, but you normally rub it a bit and make sure you grin because everybody else is laughing. Ganguly didn’t see it that way and got the hump and we didn’t see him again for two days.”

Flintoff is due to face Ganguly again when England tour India in the New Year. The all-rounder famously ripped his shirt off in celebration after winning a one-day match on the last tour there four years ago - an act Ganguly copied after India won the 2002 NatWest Series.

Flintoff added: “I’ve been out for dinner with him since that season a couple of times on England duty, the most notable time being that winter in Kenya for the ICC Trophy.

“We went out to a little curry house he had found and saw the umpire Venkat sitting over the other side of the room. Straight away he got up and went over to talk to him for 20 minutes while I sat like a spare part eating my curry on my own.

“We say hello to each other now and we are pleasant to each other, but it doesn’t go any further than that. I don’t dislike the bloke, but it’s a struggle with him.”

Andrew Flintoff’s autobiography, Being Freddie, is published today, September 29, by Stodder & Houghton, priced £18.99.